Du Plessis has big Bok dreams

Stormers centre Dan du Plessis (above) still has big Springbok aspirations despite his recent struggles with injury that saw him having to work his way back into the Cape side’s starting line-up.

Last season the 29-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign that saw him being mentioned as a possible Bok option in the midfield, however in a World Cup year it was always going to be an uphill battle to break into the national set-up.

Du Plessis was thus likely targeting another strong showing this season to prove his worth, only for him to suffer a major blow when he picked up a serious quad injury just before the start of the season that ruled him out for over three months.

He finally made his return from injury in the Stormers’ final game of 2023 against the Sharks in Cape Town, and he has since been building back to his best form.

Du Plessis however, missed out on selection to the Boks first alignment camp of the season that took place last month, but he admits that he is undeterred and inspired by his team-mate Deon Fourie to never give up.

“I definitely still have the same ambitions. It has always been to play for the Springboks and as long as that stays my goal I will keep improving and working week-in and week-out to get to the point where I can hopefully finally be part of the Springbok setup,” said Du Plessis.

“I think guys like Deon have shown that it’s never too late to be called up into a Springbok squad. I think he was 35 when he got his first call-up and he ended up going to and winning the World Cup.

“So I don’t think I will ever give up on that (dream) and I will continue working every week towards that goal.”

Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman believes that Du Plessis has the talent to play at the highest level and hopes that he will get his chance to put on the green and gold in the near future.

“I definitely believe Dan will get his opportunity at some stage. Just the amount of work that he does in a week is phenomenal.”